What comes out of this prophetic allegory is a promise that God would plant his people in Babylon, not to perish, but to become a new shoot from which the Messianic Kingdom of God will come (see 17:22-24). The Kingdom is described here as being like a tree that grows and in whose branches the birds of the air find shelter. Jesus uses this same imagery when describing the Kingdom of God in Matthew 13 saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed . . . Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.” Jesus was, in other words, announcing the beginning of the fulfilment of this prophecy of Ezekiel. The Kingdom of God is not something which comes overnight. Every generation represents one increment of the growth of the Kingdom and each life contributes one small increment to that increment of growth. But is our contribution therefore insignificant? No, it is vital. It may be one small increment of the growth, but this is how the Kingdom comes: bit by bit. With respect to the growth of a tree we should not devalue any little stage of growth just because it is a small increment. Every tiny increment is required for the tree to come to full maturity. You may not see any massive breakthroughs for the Kingdom in your lifetime but one day you will see how important your part was in the broad scheme of things.
Ask God to help you fulfil the role that he has for you in the growth of his Kingdom.
Read Ezekiel 17
